Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 241 / Monday, December 18, 2023 / Notices 87403 

1See Certain Pea Protein from the People’s 

Republic of China: Initiation of Countervailing Duty 

Investigation, 88 FR 52116 (August 7, 2023) 

(Initiation Notice). 

2See Certain Pea Protein from the People’s 

Republic of China: Postponement of Preliminary 

Determination in the Countervailing Duty 

Investigation, 88 FR 62055 (September 8, 2023). 

by using the search function and 

entering either the title of the collection 

or the OMB Control Number 0607–0110. 

Sheleen Dumas, 

Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of 

the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, 

Commerce Department. 

[FR Doc. 2023–27729 Filed 12–15–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–07–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Foreign-Trade Zones Board 

[B–49–2023] 

Foreign-Trade Zone (FTZ) 81; 

Authorization of Production Activity; 

Millipore Corporation; (Beverage 

Filtration and Purification Devices); 

Jaffrey, New Hampshire 

On August 15, 2023, Millipore 

Corporation submitted a notification of 

proposed production activity to the FTZ 

Board for its facility within Subzone 

81D, in Jaffrey, New Hampshire. 

The notification was processed in 

accordance with the regulations of the 

FTZ Board (15 CFR part 400), including 

notice in the Federal Register inviting 

public comment (88 FR 56794, August 

21, 2023). On December 13, 2023, the 

applicant was notified of the FTZ 

Board’s decision that no further review 

of the activity is warranted at this time. 

The production activity described in the 

notification was authorized, subject to 

the FTZ Act and the FTZ Board’s 

regulations, including section 400.14. 

Dated: December 13, 2023. 

Elizabeth Whiteman, 

Executive Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2023–27743 Filed 12–15–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Foreign-Trade Zones Board 

[B–63–2023] 

Foreign-Trade Zone (FTZ) 17, 

Notification of Proposed Production 

Activity; Panasonic Energy 

Corporation of North America; 

(Lithium-Ion Battery Cells); De Soto, 

Kansas 

Panasonic Energy Corporation of 

North America submitted a notification 

of proposed production activity to the 

FTZ Board (the Board) for its facilities 

in De Soto, Kansas within FTZ 17. The 

notification conforming to the 

requirements of the Board’s regulations 

(15 CFR 400.22) was received on 

December 11, 2023. 

Pursuant to 15 CFR 400.14(b), FTZ 

production activity would be limited to 

the specific foreign-status material(s)/ 

components and specific finished 

product described in the submitted 

notification (summarized below) and 

subsequently authorized by the Board. 

The benefits that may stem from 

conducting production activity under 

FTZ procedures are explained in the 

background section of the Board’s 

website—accessible via www.trade.gov/ 

ftz. 

The proposed finished product is 

finished lithium-ion battery cells (duty 

rate is 3.4%). 

The proposed foreign-status materials 

and components include: graphite 

components (natural; synthetic; natural 

and synthetic blend); sealants; Nmethyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP); Nmethylpyrrolidone with carbon black 

conductive agent; lithiated nickel oxide; 

silicon monoxide; lithiated silicate; 

silicon composite material; 

poly(vinylidene fluoride) binder 

(PVDF); polyacrylamide; sodium 

carboxymethyl cellulose thickener; 

polypropylene components (film with 

acrylic adhesive tape; gaskets; 

insulator); polyimide adhesive tape; 

polyethylene separators; styrene 

butadiene rubber latex; copper foil; 

nickel clad copper negative tabs; and, 

aluminum components (rolls; foil; 

rupture discs; cathode tabs) (duty rate 

ranges from duty-free to 6.5%).The 

request indicates that some components 

are subject to an antidumping/ 

countervailing duty (AD/CVD) order/ 

investigation if imported from certain 

countries. The Board’s regulations (15 

CFR 400.14(e)) require that merchandise 

subject to AD/CVD orders, or items 

which would be otherwise subject to 

suspension of liquidation under AD/ 

CVD procedures if they entered U.S. 

customs territory, be admitted to the 

zone in privileged foreign (PF) status (19 

CFR 146.41). The request also indicates 

that certain materials/components are 

subject to duties under section 232 of 

the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 

(section 232) or section 301 of the Trade 

Act of 1974 (section 301), depending on 

the country of origin. The applicable 

section 232 and section 301 decisions 

require subject merchandise to be 

admitted to FTZs in PF status. 

Public comment is invited from 

interested parties. Submissions shall be 

addressed to the Board’s Executive 

Secretary and sent to: ftz@trade.gov. The 

closing period for their receipt is 

January 29, 2024. 

A copy of the notification will be 

available for public inspection in the 

‘‘Online FTZ Information System’’ 

section of the Board’s website. 

For further information, contact 

Juanita Chen at juanita.chen@trade.gov. 

Dated: December 12, 2023. 

Juanita Chen, 

Acting Executive Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2023–27700 Filed 12–15–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

International Trade Administration 

[C–570–155] 

Certain Pea Protein From the People’s 

Republic of China: Preliminary 

Affirmative Countervailing Duty 

Determination, Preliminary Affirmative 

Critical Circumstances Determination, 

and Alignment of Final Determination 

With Final Antidumping Duty 

Determination 

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, 

International Trade Administration, 

Department of Commerce. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily 

determines that countervailable 

subsidies are being provided to 

producers and exporters of certain pea 

protein (pea protein) from the People’s 

Republic of China (China) during the 

period of investigation, January 1, 2022, 

through December 31, 2022. Interested 

parties are invited to comment on this 

preliminary determination. 

DATES: Applicable December 18, 2023. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kristen Johnson and Laura Griffth, AD/ 

CVD Operations, Office III, Enforcement 

and Compliance, International Trade 

Administration, U.S. Department of 

Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 

NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: 

(202) 482–4793 and (202) 482–6430, 

respectively. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

This preliminary determination is 

made in accordance with section 703(b) 

of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended 

(the Act). Commerce published the 

notice of initiation of this investigation 

on August 7, 2023.1 On September 8, 

2023, Commerce postponed the 

preliminary determination of this 

investigation until December 11, 2023.2


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
87404 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 241 / Monday, December 18, 2023 / Notices 

3See Memorandum, ‘‘Decision Memorandum for 

the Preliminary Determination of the 

Countervailing Duty Investigation of Certain Pea 

Protein from the People’s Republic of China,’’ dated 

concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this 

notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum). 

4See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, 

Final Rule, 62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997). 

5See Initiation Notice, 88 FR at 52117. 

6See Certain Pea Protein from the People’s 

Republic of China: Postponement of the Preliminary 

Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value 

Investigation, 88 FR 82831 (November 27, 2023) 

(AD Postponement Notice). 

7See sections 771(5)(B) and (D) of the Act 

regarding financial contribution; section 771(5)(E) 

of the Act regarding benefit; and section 771(5A) of 

the Act regarding specificity. 

8See sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act. 

9The non-responsive companies are: Focusherb 

LLC, Golden Protein Limited, Shandong Jianyuan 

Bioengineering Co., and Yantai Wanpy 

International Trade. 

10See Petitioner’s Letter, ‘‘Petitioner’s Request to 

Align Countervailing Duty Investigation Final 

Determination with Antidumping Duty 

Investigation Final Determination,’’ dated 

November 14, 2023. 

11See AD Postponement Notice. 

12When two respondents are under examination, 

Commerce normally calculates (A) a weightedaverage of the estimated subsidy rates calculated for 

the examined respondents using each company’s 

proprietary U.S. sale quantities for the merchandise 

under consideration; (B) a simple average of the 

estimated subsidy rates calculated for the examined 

respondents; and (C) a weighted-average of the 

estimated subsidy rates calculated for the examined 

respondents using each company’s publicly-ranged 

U.S. sale quantities for the merchandise under 

consideration. Commerce then compares (B) and (C) 

to (A) and selects the rate closest to (A) as the most 

appropriate rate for all other producers and 

exporters. See, e.g., Ball Bearings and Parts Thereof 

from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United 

Kingdom: Final Results of Antidumping Duty 

Administrative Reviews, Final Results of ChangedCircumstances Review, and Revocation of an Order 

in Part, 75 FR 53661, 53663 (September 1, 2010). 

13The four companies are Focusherb LLC, Golden 

Protein Limited, Shandong Jianyuan Bioengineering 

Co., and Yantai Wanpy International Trade. 

For a complete description of the 

events that followed the initiation of 

this investigation, see the Preliminary 

Decision Memorandum.3 A list of topics 

discussed in the Preliminary Decision 

Memorandum is included in Appendix 

II of this notice. The Preliminary 

Decision Memorandum is a public 

document and is on file electronically 

via Enforcement and Compliance’s 

Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 

Centralized Electronic Service System 

(ACCESS). ACCESS is available to 

registered users at https://

access.trade.gov. In addition, a complete 

version of the Preliminary Decision 

Memorandum can be accessed directly 

at https://access.trade.gov/public/

FRNoticesListLayout.aspx. 

Scope of the Investigation 

The product covered by this 

investigation is pea protein from China. 

For a complete description of the scope 

of this investigation, see Appendix I. 

Scope Comments 

In accordance with the preamble to 

Commerce’s regulations,4 the Initiation 

Notice set aside a period of time for 

parties to raise issues regarding product 

coverage (i.e., scope).5 Commerce 

received timely filed comments from 

interested parties on the scope of the 

investigation as it appeared in the 

Initiation Notice. Commerce intends to 

issue its preliminary decision regarding 

comments concerning the scope of the 

antidumping duty (AD) and 

countervailing duty (CVD) 

investigations in the preliminary 

determination of the companion AD 

investigation, the deadline for which is 

February 7, 2024.6 We will incorporate 

the scope decision from the AD 

investigation into the scope of the final 

CVD determination for this investigation 

after considering any relevant comments 

submitted in case and rebuttal briefs. 

Methodology 

Commerce is conducting this 

investigation in accordance with section 

701 of the Act. For each of the subsidy 

programs found countervailable, 

Commerce preliminarily determines 

that there is a subsidy, i.e., a financial 

contribution by an ‘‘authority’’ that 

confers a benefit to the recipient, and 

that the subsidy is specific.7 For a full 

description of the methodology 

underlying our preliminary conclusions, 

see the Preliminary Decision 

Memorandum. 

Commerce notes that, in making the 

preliminary findings, it relied, in part, 

on facts available, and, because it finds 

that one or more respondents did not act 

to the best of their ability to respond to 

Commerce’s requests for information, it 

drew an adverse inference where 

appropriate in selecting from among the 

facts otherwise available.8 For further 

information, see ‘‘Use of Facts 

Otherwise Available and Adverse 

Inferences’’ in the Preliminary Decision 

Memorandum. 

Preliminary Affirmative Determination 

of Critical Circumstances 

In accordance with section 703(e)(1) 

of the Act, we preliminarily find that 

critical circumstances exist with respect 

to imports of subject merchandise for 

Yantai Oriental Protein Tech Co., Ltd. 

(Yantai Oriental), Zhaoyuan Junbang 

Trading Co., Ltd. (Junbang), the nonresponsive companies,9 and all other 

producers and/or exporters. For a full 

discussion of our preliminary critical 

circumstances determination, see the 

‘‘Critical Circumstances’’ section of the 

Preliminary Decision Memorandum. 

Alignment 

As noted in the Preliminary Decision 

Memorandum, in accordance with 

section 705(a)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 

351.210(b)(4)(i), Commerce is aligning 

the final CVD determination in this 

investigation with the final 

determination in the companion AD 

investigation of pea protein from China 

based on a request made by PURIS 

Proteins, LLC (the petitioner).10

Consequently, the final CVD 

determination will be issued on the 

same date as the final AD 

determination, which is currently 

scheduled no later than April 22, 2024, 

unless postponed.11

All-Others Rate 

Sections 703(d) and 705(c)(5)(A) of 

the Act provide that in the preliminary 

determination, Commerce shall 

determine an estimated all-others rate 

for companies not individually 

examined. This rate shall be an amount 

equal to the weighted average of the 

estimated subsidy rates established for 

those companies individually 

examined, excluding any zero and de 

minimis rates and any rates based 

entirely under section 776 of the Act. 

In this investigation, Commerce 

calculated individual estimated 

countervailable subsidy rates for 

Junbang and Yantai Oriental that are not 

zero, de minimis, or based entirely on 

the facts otherwise available. Commerce 

calculated the all-others rate using a 

simple average of the individual 

estimated subsidy rates calculated for 

the examined respondents.12

Rate for Non-Responsive Companies 

Four potential exporters and/or 

producers of pea protein from China did 

not respond to Commerce’s quantity and 

value (Q&V) questionnaire.13 We find 

that, by not responding to the Q&V 

questionnaire, these companies 

withheld requested information and 

significantly impeded this proceeding. 

Thus, in reaching our preliminary 

determination, pursuant to sections 

776(a)(2)(A) and (C) of the Act, we are 

basing the CVD subsidy rate for these 

four companies on facts otherwise 

available. 

We further preliminarily determine 

that an adverse inference is warranted, 

pursuant to section 776(b) of the Act. By 

failing to submit responses to 

Commerce’s Q&V Questionnaire, the 

four companies did not cooperate to the 

best of their ability in this investigation. 

Accordingly, we preliminarily find that 

an adverse inference is warranted to 

ensure that the four companies will not 


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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 241 / Monday, December 18, 2023 / Notices 87405 

14Commerce preliminary finds the following 

companies to be cross-owned with Yantai Oriental: 

Jiujiang Tiantai Food Co., Ltd.; Shandong Sanjia 

Investment Holding Group Co., Ltd.; Yantai Yiyuan 

Bioengineering Co., Ltd.; and Yantai Zhongzhen 

Trading Co., Ltd. 

15Commerce preliminary finds Yantai Shuangta 

Food Co. Ltd. to be cross-owned with Junbang. 

16See 19 CFR 351.309(d); see also Administrative 

Protective Order, Service, and Other Procedures in 

Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings, 

88 FR 67069, 67077 (September 29, 2023) (APO, 

Service, and Other Procedures). 

17See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2). 

18We use the term ‘‘issue’’ here to describe an 

argument that Commerce would normally address 

in a comment of the Issues and Decision 

Memorandum. 

19See APO, Service, and Other Procedures, 88 FR 

at 67069. 

20See 19 CFR 351.310(d). 

obtain a more favorable result than had 

they fully complied with our request for 

information. For more information on 

the application of adverse facts available 

to the non-responsive companies, see 

‘‘Use of Facts Otherwise Available and 

Adverse Inferences’’ in the Preliminary 

Determination Memorandum. 

Preliminary Determination 

Commerce preliminarily determines 

that the following estimated 

countervailable subsidy rates exist: 

Company Subsidy rate 

(percent ad valorem) 

Yantai Oriental Protein Tech Co., Ltd.14 ............................................................................................................................. 16.46 

Zhaoyuan Junbang Trading Co., Ltd.15 .............................................................................................................................. 15.09 

Focusherb LLC .................................................................................................................................................................... 342.53 

Golden Protein Limited ........................................................................................................................................................ 342.53 

Shandong Jianyuan Bioengineering Co .............................................................................................................................. 342.53 

Yantai Wanpy International Trade ....................................................................................................................................... 342.53 

All Others ............................................................................................................................................................................. 15.78 

Suspension of Liquidation 

In accordance with section 

703(e)(2)(A) of the Act, because we find 

that critical circumstances exist for 

Junbang, Yantai Oriental, the nonresponse companies, and all other 

producers and/or exporters, Commerce 

will direct U.S. Customs and Border 

Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation 

of entries of subject merchandise as 

described in the scope of the 

investigation section entered, or 

withdrawn from warehouse, for 

consumption on or after the date 90 

days prior to the date of publication of 

this notice in the Federal Register. 

Further, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.205(d), 

Commerce will instruct CBP to require 

a cash deposit equal to the rates 

indicated above. 

Disclosure 

Commerce intends to disclose its 

calculations and analysis performed to 

interested parties in this preliminary 

determination within five days of its 

public announcement, or if there is no 

public announcement, within five days 

of the date of publication of this notice 

in the Federal Register in accordance 

with 19 CFR 351.224(b). 

Verification 

As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the 

Act, Commerce intends to verify the 

information relied upon in making its 

final determination. 

Public Comment 

All interested parties will have the 

opportunity to submit scope case and 

rebuttal briefs on the preliminary 

decision regarding the scope of the AD 

and CVD pea protein investigations. The 

deadlines to submit scope case and 

rebuttal briefs will be provided in the 

preliminary scope decision 

memorandum. For all scope case and 

rebuttal briefs, parties must file 

identical documents simultaneously on 

the records of the AD and CVD pea 

protein investigations. No new factual 

information or business proprietary 

information may be included in either 

scope case or rebuttal briefs. 

All interested parties will also have 

the opportunity to submit case briefs or 

other written comments on non-scope 

issues within this CVD pea protein 

investigation. Interested parties will be 

notified of the timeline for the 

submission of case briefs and written 

comments at a later date. Rebuttal briefs, 

limited to issues raised in the case 

briefs, may be filed not later than five 

days after the date for filing case 

briefs.16 Interested parties who submit 

case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this 

proceeding must submit: (1) a table of 

contents listing each issue; and (2) a 

table of authorities.17 As provided under 

19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), in prior 

proceedings we have encouraged 

interested parties to provide an 

executive summary of their brief that 

should be limited to five pages total, 

including footnotes. In this 

investigation, we instead request that 

interested parties provide at the 

beginning of their briefs a public, 

executive summary for each issue raised 

in their briefs.18 Further, we request that 

interested parties limit their executive 

summary of each issue to no more than 

450 words, not including citations. We 

intend to use the executive summaries 

as the basis of the comment summaries 

included in the issues and decision 

memorandum that will accompany the 

final determination in this investigation. 

We request that interested parties 

include footnotes for relevant citations 

in the executive summary of each issue. 

Note that Commerce has amended 

certain of its requirements pertaining to 

the service of documents in 19 CFR 

351.303(f).19

Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), 

interested parties who wish to request a 

hearing, limited to issues raised in the 

case and rebuttal briefs, must submit a 

written request to the Assistant 

Secretary for Enforcement and 

Compliance, U.S. Department of 

Commerce, within 30 days after the date 

of publication of this notice. Requests 

should contain (1) the party’s name, 

address, and telephone number; (2) the 

number of participants and whether any 

participant is a foreign national; and (3) 

a list of the issues to be discussed. If a 

request for a hearing is made, Commerce 

intends to hold the hearing at a date, 

time, and location to be determined.20

U.S. International Trade Commission 

(ITC) Notification 

In accordance with section 703(f) of 

the Act, Commerce will notify the ITC 

of its determination. If Commerce’s final 

determination is affirmative, the ITC 

will determine before the later of 120 

days after the date of this preliminary 

determination or 45 days after the final 

determination whether imports of pea 

protein from China are materially 

injuring, or threaten material injury to, 

the U.S. industry. 

Notification to Interested Parties 

This determination is issued and 

published pursuant to sections 703(f) 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
87406 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 241 / Monday, December 18, 2023 / Notices 

and 777(i) of the Act and 19 CFR 

351.205(c). 

Dated: December 11, 2023. 

Abdelali Elouaradia, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement 

and Compliance. 

Appendix I 

Scope of the Investigation 

The product within the scope of this 

investigation is high protein content (HPC) 

pea protein, which is a protein derived from 

peas (including, but not limited to, yellow 

field peas and green field peas) and which 

contains at least 65 percent protein on a dry 

weight basis. HPC pea protein may also be 

identified as, for example, pea protein 

concentrate, pea protein isolate, hydrolyzed 

pea protein, pea peptides, and fermented pea 

protein. Pea protein, including HPC pea 

protein, has the Chemical Abstracts Service 

(CAS) registry number 222400–29–5. 

The scope covers HPC pea protein in all 

physical forms, including all liquid (e.g., 

solution) and solid (e.g., powder) forms, 

regardless of packaging or the inclusion of 

additives (e.g., flavoring, suspension agents, 

preservatives). 

The scope also includes HPC pea protein 

described above that is blended, combined, 

or mixed with non-subject pea protein or 

with other ingredients (e.g., proteins derived 

from other sources, fibers, carbohydrates, 

sweeteners, and fats) to make products such 

as protein powders, dry beverage blends, and 

protein fortified beverages. For any such 

blended, combined, or mixed products, only 

the HPC pea protein component is covered 

by the scope of this investigation. HPC pea 

protein that has been blended, combined, or 

mixed with other products is included 

within the scope, regardless of whether the 

blending, combining, or mixing occurs in 

third countries. 

HPC pea protein that is otherwise within 

the scope is covered when commingled (i.e., 

blended, combined, or mixed) with HPC pea 

protein from sources not subject to this 

investigation. Only the subject component of 

the commingled product is covered by the 

scope. 

A blend, combination, or mixture is 

excluded from the scope if the total HPC pea 

protein content of the blend, combination, or 

mixture (regardless of the source or sources) 

comprises less than five percent of the blend, 

combination, or mixture on a dry weight 

basis. 

All products that meet the written physical 

description are within the scope of the 

investigation unless specifically excluded. 

The following products, by way of example, 

are outside and/or specifically excluded from 

the scope of the investigation: 

• burgers, snack bars, bakery products, 

sugar and gum confectionary products, milk, 

cheese, baby food, sauces and seasonings, 

and pet food, even when such products are 

made with HPC pea protein. 

• HPC pea protein that has gone through 

an extrusion process to alter the HPC pea 

protein at the structural and functional level, 

resulting in a product with a fibrous structure 

which resembles muscle meat upon 

hydration. These products are commonly 

described as textured pea protein or 

texturized pea protein. 

• HPC pea protein that has been further 

processed to create a small crunchy nugget 

commonly described as a pea protein crisp. 

• protein derived from chickpeas. 

The merchandise covered by the scope is 

currently classified under Harmonized Tariff 

Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) 

categories 3504.00.1000, 3504.00.5000, and 

2106.10.0000. Such merchandise may also 

enter the U.S. market under HTSUS category 

2308.00.9890. Although HTSUS categories 

and the CAS registry number are provided for 

convenience and customs purposes, the 

written description of the scope of the 

investigation is dispositive. 

Appendix II 

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary 

Decision Memorandum 

I. Summary 

II. Background 

III. Scope Comments 

IV. Scope of the Investigation 

V. Critical Circumstances 

VI. Analysis of China’s Financial System 

VII. Diversification of China’s Economy 

VIII. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and 

Adverse Inferences 

IX. Subsidies Valuation 

X. Benchmarks and Interest Rates 

XI. Analysis of Programs 

XII. Calculation of the All-Others Rate 

XIII. Recommendation 

[FR Doc. 2023–27699 Filed 12–15–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

International Trade Administration 

Limitation of Duty-Free Imports of 

Apparel Articles Assembled in Haiti 

Under the Caribbean Basin Economic 

Recovery Act (CBERA), as Amended 

by the Haitian Hemispheric 

Opportunity Through Partnership 

Encouragement Act (HOPE) 

AGENCY: International Trade 

Administration, Department of 

Commerce. ACTION: Notification of 

annual quantitative limit on imports of 

certain apparel from Haiti. 

SUMMARY: CBERA, as amended, 

provides duty-free treatment for certain 

apparel articles imported directly from 

Haiti. One of the preferences is known 

as the ‘‘value-added’’ provision, which 

requires that apparel meet a minimum 

threshold percentage of value added in 

Haiti, the United States, and/or certain 

beneficiary countries. The provision is 

subject to a quantitative limitation, 

which is calculated as a percentage of 

total apparel imports into the United 

States for each 12-month period. For the 

period from December 20, 2023 through 

December 19, 2024, the quantity of 

imports eligible for preferential 

treatment under the value-added 

provision is 313,655,640 square meters 

equivalent. 

DATES: The new limitations become 

applicable December 20, 2023. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kayla Johnson, International Trade 

Specialist, Office of Textiles and 

Apparel, U.S. Department of Commerce, 

(202) 482–2532. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Authority: Section 213A of the 

Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act 

(19 U.S.C. 2703a) (‘‘CBERA’’), as 

amended; and as implemented by 

Presidential Proc. No. 8114, 72 FR 

13655 (March 22, 2007), and No. 8596, 

75 FR 68153 (November 4, 2010). 

Background: Section 213A(b)(1)(B) of 

CBERA, as amended (19 U.S.C. 

2703a(b)(1)(B)), outlines the 

requirements for certain apparel articles 

imported directly from Haiti to qualify 

for duty-free treatment under a ‘‘valueadded’’ provision. In order to qualify for 

duty-free treatment, apparel articles 

must be wholly assembled, or knit-toshape, in Haiti from any combination of 

fabrics, fabric components, components 

knit-to-shape, and yarns, as long as the 

sum of the cost or value of materials 

produced in Haiti or one or more 

beneficiary countries, as described in 

CBERA, as amended, or any 

combination thereof, plus the direct 

costs of processing operations 

performed in Haiti or one or more 

beneficiary countries, as described in 

CBERA, as amended, or any 

combination thereof, is not less than an 

applicable percentage of the declared 

customs value of such apparel articles. 

Pursuant to CBERA, as amended, the 

applicable percentage for the period 

December 20, 2023 through December 

19, 2024, is 60 percent. 

For every twelve-month period 

following the effective date of CBERA, 

as amended, duty-free treatment under 

the value-added provision is subject to 

a quantitative limitation. CBERA, as 

amended, provides that the quantitative 

limitation will be recalculated for each 

subsequent 12-month period. Section 

213A(b)(1)(C) of CBERA, as amended 

(19 U.S.C. 2703a(b)(1)(C)), requires that, 

for the twelve-month period beginning 

on December 20, 2023, the quantitative 

limitation for qualifying apparel 

imported from Haiti under the valueadded provision will be an amount 

equivalent to 1.25 percent of the 

aggregate square meter equivalent of all 

apparel articles imported into the 

United States in the most recent 12- 

month period for which data are 

available. The aggregate square meters 

equivalent of all apparel articles 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES